Alfonso Ribeiro Says the Olympians Are 'Showing Up' on This Season of 'DWTS': 'They Keep Doing Incredible Things'

Alfonso Ribeiro knows this season of Dancing With the Stars has some fierce competition.

"Well, I will say that I root for everyone evenly, right? One of the things that we have said as a show is we don't really care who wins. There's no personal stake in any individual winning. We just want everyone to do incredible and to deliver and to have that experience. For us, the experience is sharing their joy and their emotional journey, and we want to see that. We want it to be authentic. We want it to be real. Do I have people that I believe are definitely near the front? Of course. Our Olympians are just that. They're Olympians, right? They're gold medalists. They know how to show up, and they keep showing up, and they keep doing incredible things," the TV host, 55, who is teaming up with PEDIGREE to change that through the Pawliday Portrait Studio, a free, ’90s-inspired photo experience at select Walmart locations that bring dogs into the family holiday photo, exclusively tells OK!.

"And what Ezra Frech and Daniella [Karagach] are doing every week, she's having to literally rewrite the syllabus every week to figure out how to do the technique of each dance in an above-the-knee prosthetic. It's incredible. Even from some of our castmates that are no longer there — Giada De Laurentiis, overcoming the fear of being on that stage and doing this for her daughter. They're just incredible stories. And so we always just hope that people get to experience it and they get to share it, and they get to share it as long as possible," he continues.

The actor, who hosts alongside Julianne Hough, said this season looks a bit different than others.

"Typically you have a couple of people at the top who are really good, and then it drops off significantly from those one or two really good ones, and then it's that middle of the pack that goes forever. The difference this year is that there are a lot more people at the top of the pack. So the last several years, we've had five people make it to the finale. I think there are more than five people who can win. So, not only are there five in the finale, there are probably six or seven that could win. That's what makes this tough, that there is no significant frontrunner. Yes, Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. came in with dance experience, right? But I have said this forever: You can have dance experience, but none of it applies to ballroom. None of it. Literally, everything you did outside of that, wrong. So you have to unlearn. And sometimes, if you take someone athletic, strong, they're going to be able to do the physicality of it, but then they're not having to unlearn to learn," he notes.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum said Dewan and Amber Glenn are having to "unlearn" certain things during rehearsals.

"Turns are different. Posture is different. Everything is different. So that's what, to me, makes it so interesting. Because, yeah, you've got people with dance experience or some sort of experience that helps them, but it's where then the person who's a blank slate gets to build. Robert Irwin was not a dancer at all. But Witney [Carson] had a blank slate and could build. Alix Earle, blank slate, learned. So that's the beauty of the show. It's not coming in week one, 'Okay, I might win week one,' but that doesn't mean I'm going to win week 11," he shares. "It's a very cool season."

Ribeiro also got to be part of last week's dance when he joined his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air costar Tatyana Ali on the floor to honor their TV dad James Avery. Ali, who is partnered with professional dancer Jan Ravnik, performed a Viennese waltz to “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am” by Nancy Wilson.

"It was very special. It was very cool. Obviously, we've had several weeks of her in her routines coming over. I get to hold her hand and be big brother for a little bit. But when she asked me to be a part of this and to dance with her, it was an automatic yes. Of course, I take my role as host very seriously, and I wanted to make sure that I'm always trying to be neutral for everyone. I cheer everyone on. I cheer everyone. I help them out. I give my thoughts on their routines, and I go there on Mondays to make sure that I see every one of their routines," he recalls.

"But this was slightly different because, obviously, James Avery played my dad on three different sitcoms, and so the idea of dedicating that routine and this night to him felt like I just had to be a part of that with her. I was honored that she asked me and that Jan and I collaborated on aspects of it. And it was beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful," he continues.

The TV personality, who won DWTS in 2014, "never" did the Viennese waltz on his season, meaning he had to "learn" it alongside Ali.

"I went to my dance coach, and she got me up to speed, and then once I got into the room, I was ready to know what I was doing to learn the routine with Jan and Tatyana. Because it's not just learning the routine, right? You learn technique. You're with a pro, and the pro, even though you're supposed to be leading, you're not. They're doing it, right? And even when you don't lead them, they're going to do the move regardless, right? I had to lead Tatyana. I had to really do the movement and make sure that the tension was right and help move her into her moves," he says. "And those are the things that are just part of the dance. It's not like I'm doing anything different. So I really needed to learn it, and it was fun. It was fun doing that. I've been on that floor many times since I competed, of course. But to be able to do that with Tatyana, actually leading her, felt really cool."

Ribeiro says the show is so meaningful because everyone is "such a family."

"We work hard on making sure that we're there for one another in every way possible, and there are a billion phone calls that happen off-site between different pros and Julianne and me and the producers and the judges, and we really do care for one another. It's nice to be able to share that with someone you've had decades of time with in Tatyana, and then building new friendships with so many of our contestants this year, and old friendships. I've known Jenna Dewan forever, and so all these different layers of it all. And we feel really blessed that we get to bring that joy weekly to the home audience," he says of the connections.

In the meantime, since the star is such a '90s icon, it made perfect sense for him to partner with PEDIGREE for their Pawliday Portraits with his dogs, Askel and Ace.

The campaign also celebrates the PEDIGREE brand’s most significant dog food renovation in a decade. New PEDIGREE Adult recipes feature Vitamin GoodBites kibble - unique plus-sign shaped kibble pieces that deliver a nutrient boost dogs will love.

"It's very cool to partner with PEDIGREE and Walmart to bring the Poliday Portrait Studio to life. It's been very cool. The '90s were a great time, right? And I remember back in the '90s being able to go to a Walmart and having your portrait taken with the whole family. But is it really a portrait if your dogs are not included in it with you? So PEDIGREE has made it so that we can take our dogs with us to participating Walmarts and be able to take that portrait. They're perfect at doing it. Obviously, the holidays are special. Family is important, and being able to include our pups in those photos and in the family is very cool," he shares.

"But obviously, take your dogs, go to Walmart, go get a photo, go get a portrait done. There's nothing like hanging it on the wall and having your whole family and being able to look at it and include your pups in that," he adds.

From October 27 thru December 5, pet parents nationwide can create their own festive throwback photo with their pup and submit it at Pedigree.com/Pawliday for the chance to win prizes including a painted recreation of their photo or an exclusive PEDIGREE Pawliday Gift Box.